Springfield Branch Committees

SPRINGFIELD BRANCH COMMITTEES

ARMED FORCES AND VETERAN’S AFFAIRS

No Current Chair

The Committee on Armed Forces and Veteran’s Affairs shall:

(1) Study conditions pertaining to veterans in the community(2) Serve as a center of information on material issued affecting African American veterans(3) Serve as a source of information to veterans and their families seeking information on government agencies serving veterans and(4) Receive and act on all veteran’s; complaints relative to discrimination on account of race, color or creed, or denial of benefits in local areas because of discrimination.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Robert Moore, Chairperson

The goal of the NAACP Criminal Justice Committee is to advocate for and advance a better public safety system that reduces the reliance on prisons as means of solving social problems, advances effective law enforcement and removes barriers to voting and employment for formerly incarcerated people. The Criminal Justice Department will accomplish its goal in ways that is responsive to individual needs and builds stronger families and communities. In efforts to advance Criminal Justice goals, the Criminal Justice Department has developed a “smart and safe” framework to implement an advocacy agenda to ensure public safety as a civil and human right for all communities and more specifically the many communities in crisis. Instead of calling for “tough on crime” rhetoric and lock’em up practices, Smart and Safe was developed to capture the true goals and aspirations of how public safety and criminal justice institutions should operate and perform in communities. Our communities will only become safer when trust is built between the criminal justice system and the communities they serve, when more help and services are provided as opposed to prison, when citizens coming home from prison can vote and work freely and when we expand and reinvest our prison budgets on education and other civic institutions that helps and serves communities.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Lakeisha Purchase, Chairperson

The Economic Development committee is to promote the growth of entrepreneurship among African Americans, and increase employment opportunities with private and public entities. The Economic Development Committee shall implement local efforts and support national programs to preserve and expand economic empowerment among African Americans and other communities of color.

EDUCATION COMMITTEE

Sherri R. Hamilton, Chairperson

The Education Committee coordinates efforts to ensure access to a high quality education for all students in the Springfield School District. This Committee process parent and student complaints, meet with district administrators, teachers, administrators, and school board members as necessary.

ENVIRONMENTAL & CLIMATE JUSTICE

James Johnson, Chairperson

When people think about climate change, melting ice caps and suffering polar bears often come to mind. In the past, and to some extent still now, Environmentalism is often linked to saving the whales or being a “tree hugger”! Historically, the American society has failed to make the connection in terms of the direct impact of environmental injustices, including climate change, on our own lives, families, and communities, which depend on the physical environment and its bounty. Toxic facilities, like coal fired power plants and incinerators, are emitting mercury, arsenic, lead, and other contaminants into the water, food, and lungs of communities. Many of these same facilities are also emitting carbon dioxide and methane – the #1 and #2 drivers of climate change. At the same time not all are equally impacted. For example, race – even more than class – is the number one indicator for the placement of toxic facilities in this country. Communities of color and low income communities are often hit the hardest by climate change.

HEALTH COMMITTEE

Veatrice Crawford, Chairperson

The Health Committee is one of the long standing committees of the NAACP. The goal of this committee is to promote, protect and maintain the health of African Americans in the Springfield community.

As such we promote health screenings, health fairs, and other activities in pursuit of this goal. Additionally our Branch is dedicated to insuring that African Americans have access to quality health care.

HOUSING

Unita Boyd, Chairperson

The Housing Committee shall:

(1) Study housing conditions in the local community
(2) Receive and seek to adjust complaints of discrimination
(3) Oppose all restrictive practices whether public or private and
(4) Disseminate information and render such other assistance which may eliminate discrimination in housing.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

James Bass, Chairperson

Debug issues that arise with the performance of the website. Make sure everything is functioning properly on the website. Webmasters need to be the liaison between IT partners and NAACP. They will be the ones who address issues with your hosting company or email service provider. Maintaining a strong relationship with these partners will allow your webmaster to tweak hardware to avoid downtime.

This involves areas including content, links, order flows, registration flows and transaction logs. If problems arise with these areas of the site, the webmaster will make corrections directly or delegate the task to other members of the IT department.

LEGAL REDRESS

Archie Lawrence, Chairperson

The Legal Redress Committee shall:

(1) Investigate all cases reported to it
(2) Supervise all litigation in which the Branch is interested
(3) Keep the National Office and the Springfield Branch informed on the progress of every case and it shall not give general legal advice.

MEMBERSHIP

No Current Chair

The Membership Committee shall:
(1) work throughout the year to maintain and increase the membership of the Association; (2) be responsible for planning and organizing the annual membership campaign; and (3) be responsible on a continuous basis for soliciting new members and for securing renewals

POLITICAL ACTION

Teresa Haley, Chairperson

In the past year, the NAACP has registered hundreds of thousands of Americans to vote and has equipped vulnerable communities with the resources to fight back against attacks on fundamental voting rights through our nationwide campaign, This is My Vote. Visit the This Is My Vote microsite for more information or to register to vote online: www.thisismyvote.org . Or call 1-866-MyVote1 to register by phone. The function of the Political Action Committee is to:
(1) Seek to increase registration and voting
(2) Work for the enactment of municipal, state and federal legislation designed to improve the educational, political and economic status of minority groups
(3) Seek the repeal of racially discriminatory legislation
(4) Work to secure equal enforcement of the law and
(5) Keep the National office and the conference informed of all proposed legislation which affects minority groups.
The Political Action Committee shall be non-partisan and shall not endorse candidates for public office.

PRESS AND PUBLICITY

Teresa Haley, Chairperson

The Press and Publicity Committee shall:

(1) Endeavor to secure publicity for the work of the Branch and the Association in the local press and on radio, television and other media
(2) Attempt to interest persons in charge of local news media on conditions affecting minority groups; (3) Seek to counteract derogatory and erroneous statements in local news media about blacks and other minority groups
(4) Be responsible for forwarding HE CRISIS items covering Branch activities and important local affairs
(5) Act as far as possible as an agency for the promotion and sale of THE CRISIS. No Publicity shall be released without first being approved by the President of the Branch.

RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS

Kimberly Hamilton, Chairperson

The Religious Affairs Committee shall include ministerial and lay religious leaders who are members of the Springfield branch. It shall:

(1) Promote an educational program designed to give a moral and ethical interpretation to the civil rights struggle
(2) Interpret the work of the Association to organized religious groups of all faiths
(3) Enlist the support of such organized religious groups for membership, fund raising and the struggle for equality and full civil rights
(4) Provide resource assistance for religious education and social action activities associated with the improvement of race relations.